


The Sight of You Warms My Heart

by twicecomehome



Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-30
Updated: 2017-06-30
Packaged: 2018-11-21 09:07:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,977
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11354271
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/twicecomehome/pseuds/twicecomehome
Summary: Takes place during Trespasser where the Inquisitor Adaar meets his fate





	The Sight of You Warms My Heart

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this when the Trespasser DLC was first announced and I had no clue what it was about

Kata Adaar was never one to rush into battle willingly. In fact, he absolutely abhorred violence. He was not raised by the Qun like every other qunari. No, he actually had the privilege of knowing his parents and they always raised him to be understanding and kind even when the world was not. Kata learned this the hard way with the death of his parents and realized that one could not survive in this world by just being kind alone. So he thought, if he must fight, he would fight for his own reasons with his own principles.

At first, after his parent’s death, he fought simply for his own survival. He was only a young adult when he became a hired sword by joining a Tal-Vashoth mercenary company called Valo-Kas. Initially, there was doubt within the company about his capabilities. Some said he was too soft, that he didn’t have what it takes to kill. Others called him the runt of the litter because he was much smaller than your average qunari. Eventually though, he proved himself to be, not only capable, but a natural on the battlefield. As the years went by, any and all doubt about the young qunari’s capabilities were silenced and the company treated him well enough, provided he got the job done.

But then he got hired to provide protection at the Conclave and that was when everything was shot to hell. He still had nightmares about it even to this day.

He remembered when Cassandra and Leliana came to him about leading the Inquisition, Kata was reluctant to say the least. He was unsure if he wanted to bear all this responsibility but before he knew it, word was spreading about him. People were starting to call him the Herald of Andraste or the Inquisitor and he became their only hope.

All of a sudden, he wasn’t just fighting for himself anymore.

Everything was so new to him but it was not unwelcomed. He had people to care for now, people who were depending on him but also, people he could depend on. His inner circle, the strangest band of misfits if he ever did see one, was slowly but surely starting to become like a family to him. He enjoyed the little times he had to spend with everyone within all the chaos.

And then there was Cassandra.

Their first meeting was rocky and they did not always see eye to eye but no one could doubt how much they loved each other. The signs were everywhere from their subtle touches to the way they looked at each other. To Kata, Cassandra was the light to his sometimes dark world and it was the same vice versa.

After Corypheus’ defeat, the world needed to rebuild. The Inquisition was respected and regarded throughout Thedas so of course, they had a hand on major decisions. It was a daunting and rather exhausting task but luckily, Kata didn’t have to go at it alone.

Two years passed and a new threat was looming over the horizon.

The Qunari invasion.

Another fight Kata did not want to get involved in but it seemed he had no choice. He had to protect the people. He had to protect his family.

Battle after battle, he was starting to get drained. It didn’t help that his hand, the same one that once closed the breach, was starting to short circuit. His friends were starting to worry and Cassandra even came to him one night at camp to express her concerns. He promised her he would be fine but that didn’t ease the Seeker’s worries.

“Just be careful, don’t be reckless out there. Maker knows what I would do if something ever happened to you.”

Those words echoed in his mind as he dropped his sword and fell to his knees.

“Inquisitor!”

People were yelling for him but there was something different in their voices. It didn’t sound like they were calling him for help like he was used to. It sounded much more urgent than that.

“Inquisitor! Are you okay?!”

He could hear Cullen’s lone voice and was confused by the question. _Okay? Why wouldn’t I be okay?_ He thought but he could feel something was very wrong. The world around him started to slow down as his mind tried to process what happened.

They were in the Hinterlands. They had gotten wind that the qunari would attack Redcliffe and the Inquisition came to intercept them. Everything was going well, they were holding the qunari off just fine. Him and Varric even had a bet going on how many they could defeat. He remembered Varric was only at 10 while he was cutting through qunari number 12 and then there was the saarebas.

_Ah_ , he remembered what happened.

He got careless. He wasn’t paying attention and the saarebas got him from behind, his magic going completely through him. Kata placed a hand on his chest and looked at it. It almost seemed like a joke when he saw it was red.

_That’s right_ , he thought, _I was hit_.

At the realization, the pain immediately set in. It was a kind of pain that the large qunari had never experienced before. He was used to this, getting hit and slashed down but he could tell this time was different. There would be no coming back from this one.

The sound of thunder rolling echoed throughout the battlefield as the Inquisition party saw their leader fall like a tree that had been cut down. They waited for him to get back up as he had done many times before but he never did. Everyone was alarmed, worried, panicky but no one as much as Cassandra Pentaghast.

___“Kata!” she screamed, cutting down the last of her enemies._ _ _

___As the last one fell, she immediately made a break for her qunari lover. She was frantic, silently praying to the Maker that he was still alive. When she reached him, there was already a small pool of blood around him. It was hard to tell if he was still breathing with all his armor so she quickly turned him around on his back. She was slightly relieved to see that he was at least still awake._ _ _

___“Thank the Maker, you’re alright” she sighed, quietly just enough for Kata to hear._ _ _

___The large qunari tried to laugh but the pain in his chest cut him off short “I’m sorry, Cass” he groaned, grimacing in pain “I really messed up this time huh?”_ _ _

___Cassandra could see that her lover was growing weak. Even under his vitaar, the Seeker could tell that his complexion was paler than usual and she thought, not him too. Maker be merciful and do not take him too._ _ _

___“Don’t cry” she heard her lover say, bringing her back to a reality she did not want to face. “Please don’t cry Cassandra”_ _ _

___The Seeker hadn’t even realized that there were tears streaming down her face until the large qunari placed his hand on her cheek. His touch was always so warm but this time it was as cold as Emprise de Leon. It made her cry even more.___

___"Please, please do not leave me" she begged. "The world needs you, I need you"_ _ _

___Kata smiled faintly, rubbing away her tears. He could no longer hear the sound of clashing swords and figured that the battle was over. They would be celebrating their victory at this point and he was more apologetic that they couldn't._ _ _

___"My love, my time is short-"_ _ _

___"Don't!" The Seeker practically cried out. Those were not the words she wanted to hear. "Don't say things like that. Dorian can heal you or maybe even Vivienne or Solas! Just please hold on"_ _ _

___She was begging now, begging the Maker for more time. Just another day. Or year. There was so much left to do, so much left to say. This couldn't be the way things ended. It was too soon._ _ _

___The young qunari could see his friends surrounding him and laughed to himself. To fall at the hands of his own people and to die in the hands of his loved one, the Maker sure did have a sense of humor. But he was glad. Glad that if he had to die now, that it was surrounded by the people he fought so hard to protect._ _ _

___He thought about Cullen and Josephine who wanted nothing more than to redeem themselves of their past. About Varric who would probably tell stories about him so that he could live on in them long after he was gone. Leliana who found herself again even when the world had made her hard. Dorian who just wanted his freedom. Cole who just wanted to be a real human._ _ _

___He thought about Vivienne who never compromised who she was for what she wants. About Bull and his love for his Chargers. Sera and how they never got the chance to make Inquisition cookies. Blackwall who found himself in someone else. Solas who he desperately wanted to help._ _ _

___And then there was Cassandra._ _ _

___His sweet Cassandra who wore her skin like an armor to hide the soft parts of herself that he loved. The one person who had been by his side from the beginning throughout this crazy journey. The one person he would regret leaving the most._ _ _

___"Say it" his voice was barely audible "Just once more before I leave"_ _ _

___All their friends who were surrounding them weren't sure what the qunari meant but knew that it was something special only to the two of them. Almost all of them were holding back tears. There was nothing any of them could do. As of lately, the saarebas had a power that no healing magic could heal. It had something to do with the power of the orb but none of their mages could figure out how to negate its effects yet and Cassandra knew that. It was probably why the Seeker was holding back a sob._ _ _

___"Just once more" he said again, noticeably fading off much to Cassandra's dismay._ _ _

___"Kata, please Kata, stay awake" she gently slapped his cheek, knowing full well that it was no use._ _ _

" _Please_ Cassandra" he begged. His breathing was becoming heavy and he knew he didn't have much time. "Just once more"

___She didn't want to. She knew that if she said what he wanted her to, it would make things more final and she didn't want things to be final. But he sounded so weak and tired. It broke her heart._ _ _

___Finally, the Seeker grabbed her lover's hand and held it tight against her cheek._ _ _

___"The-" she heard her voice crack and choked back a small sob before continuing "The sight of you warms my heart"._ _ _

___Kata smiled or at least he hoped so. He felt so weak that he wasn't so sure anymore. Even wiping away his love's tears was taking a lot out of him._ _ _

___"And yours, mine" he could feel himself ascending "I'm sorry, my lo-"_ _ _

___Cassandra felt his arm go limp as his words cut off and held his hand even tighter to her cheek. She looked into his eyes. They were still open but there was no life behind them. No gleam that she loved so much._ _ _

___The people around her erupted into sobs and she could feel Varric's presence looming over her but didn't notice the hand he seemed to have placed on her shoulder. She didn't seem to notice that she was also sobbing or that her cries were echoing through the skies like thunder. Everything felt numb._ _ _

___The gray skies overhead began to trickle down droplets of rain as if to say they were sorry and that they too were mourning. But to Cass, it only symbolized a truth she was not yet ready to accept._ _ _

___The Inquisitor was dead._ _ _


End file.
